Flight of Fancy

Get a bird’s-eye view of Haru’s coastal city

This stunning build is the work of expert mega-builder Haru. Called “Crane Travel” it shows clusters of buildings, inspired by historic designs from across Asia, attached like limpets to craggy coastal outcrops. Walkways are strung between the islands, and, towering above the other houses is a grand palace of green sweeping roofs, draped in multicoloured pendants. And further above that still, sailships hang miraculously in the air as a flock of gigantic cranes soar past.

“Every time I build I put in 70 percent realistic elements and 30 percent unrealistic elements,” says Haru. There needs to be something solid and credible first to anchor the viewer in the reality of the world, before Haru starts to build the more outlandish aspects around it. With this ratio of real to unreal “the overall look of the build will be better. If I put more unrealistic elements, then it will come out unnatural and awkward.”

Though Haru looked to traditional Korean architecture, “most of the buildings were actually inspired by Japanese building style.” Render by Kryiin.

Haru’s hope is that the fantasy elements emphasise the beauty of Asian architecture rather than distract from it. Render by Banan.

For Haru, Minecraft is a tool of artistic creation first and foremost. “And I love the Minecraft character. It's so cute.” Render by Antrelial.

How did Haru set about constructing such elaborate structures? Did he sketch the designs out first?

“In my case, I didn't sketch at all,” says Haru. “My only process in order to build is just my own imagination. The reason why I don't sketch first is because I think of the Minecraft world itself as my own sketchbook and all of those blocks are my paints. I just use my own imagination instantly and build. In this point, I can feel the beauty of Minecraft.”

Each build is a self-set challenge to improve, says Haru - to hit some creative limit, overcome it and grow as an artist. But such ambition sounds occasionally exhausting and sometimes Haru will hit a creative block: “If I can't think about ideas of building anymore, then I have to take time to rest - just few days and I go back to focus on building again.”

What can we expect to see from Haru in the future? “I will work hard to improve and develop Korean minecraft building community in 2017.” With builds as good as this already, that’s quite the challenge!